Russia puts forward peace proposal on Donetsk region, US Special Envoy says

Witkoff was asked who bears greater responsibility for prolonging the war — Russia or Ukraine.

He replied that the situation is more complex and stressed that these are two "tough sides." According to him, US President Donald Trump was disappointed with the actions of both Russia and Ukraine, but at the same time, he has done more than anyone else in the past eight months to narrow the differences between the parties.

Witkoff also said that Russia has put forward a peace proposal concerning the Donetsk region. He acknowledged that Ukraine may not accept the initiative but emphasized that the current stage of negotiations represents unprecedented progress.

"The Russians have put a peace proposal on the table. It involves Donetsk. It may not be something that the Ukrainians can take, but no one’s ever made that kind of progress here," the US Special Envoy stated.

At the same time, Witkoff emphasized that it is thanks to Trump’s active stance and his motivation to end the war that the parties are now at a stage where "the end is in sight."

Negotiations to end the war

Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance said that Russia has allegedly made significant concessions in the context of its demands to end the war against Ukraine.

He assured that the Kremlin was ready to show flexibility to settle. Notably, this refers to Russia promising to preserve Ukraine’s territorial integrity after the war.

However, Russia has not backed down from its demands for the full withdrawal of Ukrainian defenders from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly stressed that such a scenario is impossible.

Moreover, Zelenskyy noted that Russia’s willingness not to seize more Ukrainian territory cannot be considered a concession.